


Spar. Rant. Deal.

by Matrya



Series: The Disrepute of Nat and Jim [2]
Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s06e08 Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ring Out, Episode: s06e09 The Prodigal Daughter Returns, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-10
Updated: 2011-06-10
Packaged: 2018-08-31 20:04:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8591716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matrya/pseuds/Matrya
Summary: Lorelai calls Jess. It goes better and/or worse than expected.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in June 2011 and it went live on the Pit on June 10, 2011. Now, it lives here.

"Hello?"

Beat. "Hi. Uhm. Is Jess Mariano there?"

He pauses, shifting the phone to perch between his shoulder and ear. "This is."

"Oh. Hi." There's a long, awkward pause. She wants him to break it, but finally caves. "It's Lorelai."

"Huh."

She can picture him, sitting on a couch with a notebook, penning ideas for a hundred more novels. "I got your number from Luke."

"You asked Luke for my number?"

"Address book."

He pulls a stack of paperbacks from a box, dumping them on a shelf. "Right."

"It was right next to mine. I wasn't sneaking."

With a sigh, he decides to take pity on her, taking the phone back into his hand. "What can I do for you?"

She finds she's been chewing on her cuticles and stops. "Well." She looks at Paul Anka, who stares at her with sad eyes.

"Lorelai?"

"I wanted to say thank you."

There's a long silence, punctuated only by a sneaky question, "Oh?"

Lorelai breathes deep, reinforcing her iron will for something she never thought she would do. "I don't know what you said, or did. But, I know you were around and I know that's why Rory came home and..." she trails, tapping out Manic Monday on the table with her nails. "Thank you."

"No problem," he replies. "Anything else?"

"That's it?"

"That's it," Jess says, confirming.

She nods, feeling every bit Lorelai. "To be fair, though, it's your fault."

Setting his box onto the counter, Jess sighs. "Excuse me?"

"Rory would never be where she was if you hadn't been a factor. Like, years back."

"How so?" He shakes his head at her denial, thinking that no matter how much he might change, Lorelai never will.

Taking a deep, preparing breath, she explains, "She went to Yale because of you. She slept with Dean because of you."

"What?"

"She dated Logan after Dean left her."

"Wait, what?"

"And Logan's dad is the reason she quit school. He convinced her she couldn't be a journalist."

"Lorelai?"

She looks at Paul Anka again, but he's staring at the fridge. "What?"

He smirks. "I never would've been a factor if she wasn't her mother's daughter." Jess hangs up, triumphantly.

Staring blankly, Lorelai wonders where he got the gall.

When the phone rings again a minute later, he answers, "Hello?"

"Yeah, Kid, you would've."

Jess, always hopeless, smiles at a dead line.


End file.
